-Formula 1 - Season 2011

[genius83]

Something Funny a Twitter Battle between MarkWebber and Pedro De La Rosa:
PDLR: Just bought a radio control plane and will fly it (and destroy it) tomorrow morning. Same as Wurz did with the MP4-18 at Jerez....

WEB:@PedrodelaRosa1 Any news on the plane king of Spain?surely you couldn't bin it as well as alex binned adrain's gem?

PDLR: Crashed the radio control plane in wurzy style, nothing left... Now in Monza doing some filming with Pirelli. Will update the egg shortly...

WEB : @PedrodelaRosa1 You filming- o yes you love seeing ya self on the box,even with all those grey hairs!!

PDLR: @AussieGrit I guess you also love seeing yourself on your box having a front wing change...

WEB: @PedrodelaRosa1 still crying at you trying to fly that plane buddy,you coming to barcalona test?I'm driving days 3/4 great to catch up mate

Pedro De La Rosa Twitter Address:Pedro de la Rosa (PedrodelaRosa1) on Twitter

Mark Webber Twitter Address:Mark Webber (AussieGrit) on Twitter

Later,
Alex Wurz joins the party

Wurz to PDLR: man, change your pic, now u look like a egg! yes i did a proper job with mp4-18 in jerz ! Expansive damage it was, and fire!

[Blackeye117]

@waqas And uk And Genius .. .Come On Guys .. M Almost 20 Now tough i acted like a mature when i was a little kid ..

and thanks too For that Picture

[genius83]

Bahrain GP bosses promise safe event
Bahrain Grand Prix officials have promised that they will not allow the safety of visitors to its race to be compromised, as they vowed to respond if necessary to the political turmoil going on in the island state.

Pirelli announces tyre allocations
Formula 1's tyre supplier Pirelli has announced the compounds that it will take to the first four races of the 2011 season.

[U]<font color='darkorange'>Pirelli Allocations for the First 4 Races</font>[/U]
<font color='black'>GP             Prime           Option</font>
<font color='#ff8c00'><font color='purple'>Bahrain         Hard            Soft</font>
<font color='purple'>Australia       Hard            Soft</font>
<font color='purple'>Malaysia        Hard            Soft</font>
<font color='purple'>China           Hard            Soft</font>
</font>

Red Bull open about Webber's future
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner says he sees no reason why Mark Webber could not stay at the the team beyond 2011 if he continues to perform as strongly as last year.

[UncleKracker]

The art of playing fair in Formula 1
Tony Dodgins takes a look at Formula 1's own unique code of ethics and sense of fair play, and why those within the sport will always seek an advantage in their pursuit of victory. Was it ever thus, he asks.
The willingness to seek an unfair advantage to get ahead is there in lots of competitive people, and it can start young.

Heidfeld confirmed as Kubica's replacement
The Renault team has confirmed that Nick Heidfeld will be Robert Kubica's replacement this season, starting from this week's test at Barcelona. Heidfeld was expected to land the drive after impressing the outfit during his test at the Jerez circuit last week.
The 33-year-old will be working as an official Renault driver starting at this week's test at Barcelona, the German driving on Saturday and Monday.

Pirelli announces tyre allocations
Formula 1's tyre supplier Pirelli has announced the compounds that it will take to the first four races of the 2011 season.

Damn you Pirelli for giving into demands for creating artificial excitement:mad:

@genius83
But I still don't understand why Vettel left open his rear wing slot during fast turns, is it possible to go faster through fast corners as certainly it is not possible to overtake when you are making a turn.

@m_waqas
i think keeping the rear wing open for whole lap isn't worth it cause in race you will be allowed to use it only at certain parts of the track identified by FIA :S ... but it sure gives the idea of the car that RB7 is ... and it sure gives them precious testing data...
Guys, thats just Red Bull showing it's superior aero package plus getting important data for qualifying.

In qualifying you can have the rear wing open for as long as you want and anywhere you want. If they can take certain turns with the rear wing open, and flat out, they will be coming onto the straight, however short it maybe be, after that turn much faster and that will translate into quicker lap times in qualifying.

Strange as it may sound, given how Red Bull has been going, people like James Allen etc think Ferrari has more out-right speed at the moment, i.e, over one lap qualifying but Red Bull is kinder to it's tires over a race distance in comparison to Ferrari and hence a quicker car. How they have come to that conclusion I don't know when all indications are that Red Bull has only become better:S

Perhaps they will change their mind after Barcelona test.

[Blackeye117]

Is it The New Car ? If It is then Whats The Thing On The Front Wing ?

[genius83]

Kubica undergoes final surgery
Robert Kubica underwent his final operation on Wednesday at the Santa Corona hospital where he is staying since his crash.

Williams denies anything untoward with Barrichello's Jerez time
Williams has denied claims Rubens Barrichello set the fastest time of last week's Jerez test by running an underweight car. His best lap was comfortably faster than any others, moving one unnamed competitor to declare he didn't believe he had witnessed genuine performance.

Shanghai agrees seven-year Grand Prix extension
The future of the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai has been secured with the signing of a new seven-year deal which will guarantee the race until 2017.

Drivers should drive, not play with buttons - Vettel
Sebastian Vettel has again spoken of his unease over F1's mandatory adjustable rear wings in 2011, believing they could reduce the impact of overtaking in the eyes of spectators.

@All
Guys we are just a month away from the season start and we have not decided about where we will play our this season's fantasy league so here are your options:
1) Facebook Fantasy league.(like last year)
2) PFF1 fantasy league.
3) Yahoo Fantasy league (if available)

@UK
Ok, I didnot think about RB7's usage of rear wing for qualifying purpose and yes it does make sense.

@Blackeye117
No, its not the new car it is most likely the Renault's 2008 challenger because the front wing is from that season, this kind of front wing is not allowed now. I don't understand why they change the colour of R28 from ING livery to Lotus livery.

As for your early question about us 3 treating you as a kid well I could assure you that I am not the one who has been treating you as kid rather I have said many times that you are now eligible to watch stuff that been posted here towards certain some one.

[alliereyaz]

//youtu.be/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlfdUkL5uKM&feature=player_embedded

Finally Alonso express his fears by calling his rival arch nemesis LEWIS HAMILTON the fastest and the one to beat. Hell yeah!!!beat him. no one beat him.

[m_waqas]

@uk..
ya man i forgot that thing about quali,.. keeping rear wing open during qualis will come very handy for RBR.. i hope Ferrari will be able to do the same :S ...

if people likes of JA think Ferrari is quicker then they must have the solid justification for that.. and needless to say i wanna believe them ...

RBR kinder to its tires more than Ferrari ?? :S ... thats contrary to what i thought,.. i always thought Ferrari, specially ALO, is more easy on its tire hence more mileage :S .. though i might b wrong again ...

@m_waqas
I would be worried if RB7 turns into Dr. Jackyll Hyde rather then Frankenstein.

Jackyll Hyde ??.. i gotta run to search for that buddy,.. anyway what kind of, lets say, problems RBR would have if RB7 turns into Jackyll Hyde ?? ... or u being a fan trying to save RB7 ?? :S

Hamilton 'maybe the fastest in F1' - Alonso

@Hulk.. thats just pure magnanimity by ALO ... and its not only HAM he praised,..

Damn you Pirelli for giving into demands for creating artificial excitement:mad:

hw come ??.. what would 've u recommended ?? :S ..

[m_waqas]

Pirelli promises lively races as it nominates race tyres

Pirelli has announced that it will supply the hard and soft tyres from its range for the opening four rounds of the 2011 season. It has made the announcement now, with two official tests still to come, in order for the teams to work on dialling their cars in to the selected tyres.

The drop off in performance has been pretty steep in the first two tests and the revised soft tyre will likely be a notch harder and more durable. Certainly the requirements of the opening four circuits, Bahrain, Melbourne (where it can be unexpectedly cold sometimes) Malaysia and China are quite different. But with so little time for Pirelli to develop their tyres, chosing the hard and soft from the range – the ones which have been most developed – is the safest route to go. The degradation on the hard tyre has been quite high too.

Pirelli says that it wants to promote exciting racing, putting the onus on the teams’ tacticians to come up with the best strategy, “Pirelli’s aim is to have two pit stops at every race, helping to increase the spectacle,” said its statement. It looks likely to achieve that goal, judging from testing.

[alliereyaz]

Bahrain GP is in trouble....may be Australian GP will be race opener for 2011

[m_waqas]

^ u got any update on that ??.. organizers are reassuring safety but its sad to see this happening in muslim countries :S :-# ... i will shutup now otherwise this will go totally off-topic...

Rosberg: Merc wasn't showboating

Nico Rosberg says Michael Schumacher was still keeping something in reserve when he shot to the top of the times in Jerez testing last Friday. Mercedes had not looked competitive early in winter testing, leading to fears that it might start the season off the pace.

Hamilton's brother to start racing career

Lewis Hamilton’s younger brother Nicolas will start to carve out his own motorsport career this year by competing in the junior Renault Clio Cup.

The 19-year-old, who has cerebral palsy, has gained the necessary National B racing licence to make his competitive racing debut in the British-based series, a support category for the British Touring Car Championship.

Winter testing: Stats so far

Teams:

1. Ferrari - 1,981 miles
2. Red Bull - 1,727 miles
3. Mercedes - 1,437 miles
4. Williams - 1,340 miles
5. Renault - 1,323 miles
6. Toro Rosso - 1,316 miles
7. Sauber - 1,041 miles
8. Force India - 726 miles
9. Lotus - 673 miles
10. McLaren - 640 miles
11. Virgin - 594 miles
12. Hispania - 0 miles

Drivers:

1. Alonso - 1,186 miles
2. Schumacher - 932 miles
3. Barrichello - 874 miles
4. Webber - 872 miles
5. Vettel - 855 miles
6. Buemi - 796 miles
7. Massa - 795 miles
8. Perez - 778 miles
9. Kobayashi - 636 miles
10. Alguersuari - 520 miles
11. Rosberg - 505 miles
12. Kubica - 495 miles
13. Maldonado - 466 miles
14. Di Resta - 448 miles
15. Petrov - 405 miles
16. Button - 382 miles
17. Trulli - 350 miles
18. Kovalainen - 323 miles
19. D'Ambrosio - 322 miles
20. Sutil - 278 miles
21. Glock - 272 miles
22. Hamilton - 258 miles
23. Heidfeld - 236 miles
24. Senna - 187 miles
25. Ricciardo - 102 miles

[alliereyaz]

im very worried about the pace of mclaren.

here are some news on bahrain gp
Unrest threatens Bahrain GP - Motorsport - Sportal India

Motorsport: Todt refusing to push panic button ahead of Bahrain GP - Other Sports, Sport - Independent.ie

im sure bahrain is not going to open f1 season.

[genius83]

FOG loses 'F1' trademark fight
A European court has rejected Formula One Group's attempt to get exclusive rights to the "F1" abbreviation as a trademark.

Bahrain GP concerns grow amid tension
Concerns about the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix and pre-event test have grown on Thursday, in the wake of the deteriorating political situation in the Gulf state reported to have left at least five people dead.

Teams to test modified soft tyres
Formula 1 teams will get a chance to try out modified versions of the super soft and soft tyres in Barcelona testing this week - with Pirelli confident that drivers are now getting used to the characteristics of its rubber.

Alonso: Drivers can't cut out riskFernando Alonso thinks it is impossible for Formula 1 drivers to cut out risk away from the race track - as he expressed relief that friend Robert Kubica was recovering well from his recent rally crash.

@m_waqas
I think the situation in Bahrain is getting quite serious and GP2 Asia has already cancelled their 2nd round this week.

Bahrain GP2 Asia race cancelledGP2 Asia organisers have cancelled this weekend's second round of the series in Bahrain in the wake of the deteriorating political situation in the Gulf state.

As for Jackyll Hyde and RB7 problems, Dr Jackyll Hyde was a scientist who develops a mixture to create super humans and he tests it on himself and failed and become an out of mind monster. RB7 looking excellent could turn into a monster because of super tight rear end, that is what I worries.

Unlike Frankenstein who was created with one purpose to haunt people away Jackyll Hyde was a noble man turns monster, more dangerous then an outright monster.

[UncleKracker]

It looks almost impossible for the GP to go ahead. A few people got killed today. A test is scheduled at the track too. We are likely to end up with a 19 race season and even if the GP goes ahead, at least the last test has to be moved some where else.

Drivers should drive, not play with buttons - Vettel
Sebastian Vettel has again spoken of his unease over F1's mandatory adjustable rear wings in 2011, believing they could reduce the impact of overtaking in the eyes of spectators.

Bravo bravo!! for a guy who has extremely limited ability when it comes to passing someone on track, at least he is not afraid to speak his mind. i for one couldn't agree more with what Vettel has said <label for="rb_iconid_14"></label><label for="rb_iconid_14"></label><label for="rb_iconid_14"></label><label for="rb_iconid_14"></label><label for="rb_iconid_14"></label>

i always thought Ferrari, specially ALO, is more easy on its tire hence more mileage :S .. though i might b wrong again ...

Ferrari is kind to it's tires but perhaps not as much as Red Bull. Alonso on the other hand is quite easy on them. Then again, i would have thought Red Bull would be the out and out fastest car and not Ferrari, as has been suggested.

Damn you Pirelli for giving into demands for creating artificial excitement:mad:
hw come ??.. what would 've u recommended ?? :S ..

The kind of drop off we have seen in the first two tests, I`d say Hard and Medium was the way to go. But no, we want to satisfy this group who want to see overtaking at all costs and for them it's not overtaking unless it's done for first, second or maybe third place, preferably for first place. Much like the 125cc.

@genius83

You just want Eddie to give you his high quality stuff at a discount and for that you will say anything-including him being of legal age:P

I will only accept him as an adult once Paula issues a certificate. You gotta understand, between the four of us she is the only qualified person to do so being a female at best or Almas bobby at worst:-# Let Paula decide. Sorry Eddie, it's nothing personal. We are doing all this for your well being:)

I think the yahoo thing might start in the next 2-3 weeks.

[genius83]

Bahrain pressing ahead with F1 plans
Bahrain Grand Prix officials said on Thursday that they remain focused on delivering a successful Formula 1 season opener next month, despite mounting doubts about the event taking place due to political unrest in the country.

@UK
I think Ferrari was carrying more fuel then RedBull which results in more degradation in tyres while RedBull was just trying to not show much pace over a lap or in simple words they both were doing heavy sandbagging.

I am already getting high class stuff and you know the source;), so I certainly don't need to say about Eddie that he is eligible for that.

If Bahrain GP cancelled then the last test will be held at Barcelona just like last season we have 2 tests at Jerez.

[UncleKracker]

Driver line-up for Barcelona test

<table class="thin"><tbody><tr><td>Team</td><td>Friday 18th</td><td>Saturday 19th</td><td>Sunday 20th</td><td>Monday 21st</td></tr><tr><td>Red Bull</td><td>Sebastian Vettel</td><td>Sebastian Vettel</td><td>Mark Webber</td><td>Mark Webber</td></tr><tr><td>McLaren</td><td>Jenson Button</td><td>Jenson Button</td><td>Lewis Hamilton</td><td>Lewis Hamilton</td></tr><tr><td>Ferrari</td><td>Fernando Alonso</td><td>Fernando Alonso</td><td>Felipe Massa</td><td>Felipe Massa</td></tr><tr><td>Mercedes</td><td>Michael Schumacher</td><td>Nico Rosberg</td><td>Nico Rosberg</td><td>Michael Schumacher</td></tr><tr><td>Renault</td><td>Nick Heidfeld / Vitaly Petrov</td><td>Nick Heidfeld</td><td>Vitaly Petrov</td><td>Nick Heidfeld</td></tr><tr><td>Williams</td><td>Rubens Barrichello</td><td>Rubens Barrichello</td><td>Pastor Maldonado</td><td>Pastor Maldonado</td></tr><tr><td>Force India</td><td>Paul di Resta</td><td>Paul di Resta</td><td>Adrian Sutil</td><td>Adrian Sutil</td></tr><tr><td>Sauber</td><td>Kamui Kobayashi</td><td>Kamui Kobayashi</td><td>Sergio Perez</td><td>Sergio Perez</td></tr><tr><td>Toro Rosso</td><td>Jaime Alguersuari</td><td>Jaime Alguersuari</td><td>Daniel Ricciardo / Sebastien Buemi</td><td>Sebastien Buemi</td></tr><tr><td>Lotus</td><td>Heikki Kovalainen</td><td>Heikki Kovalainen</td><td>Jarno Trulli</td><td>Jarno Trulli</td></tr><tr><td>HRT</td><td>TBC</td><td>TBC</td><td>TBC</td><td>TBC</td></tr><tr><td>Virgin</td><td>Jerome d’Ambrosio</td><td>Jerome d’Ambrosio*</td><td>Timo Glock</td><td>Timo Glock*</td></tr></tbody></table>

@genius83

Barcelona test will reveal a much better picture. Even if we don't know the exact front runner, oh well that has to be Red Bull, but at least we will know where others are in relation to the pace setting Bull.

I need your support regarding Eddie. He must be evaluated by Paula. I agree with poor Eddie, it's time we treat him like a grown up but it can't happen without a certificate from Paula unless you are personally going to vouch for Eddie being of legal age.

[m_waqas]

thats very sad reading about Bahrain.. lets see first race is almost a month away.. things may get better in the meanwhile...

@tires..

lolz.. thats why i love MotoGP so much...

right.. but obviously they will be doing 2 pitstops strategy anyway.. as Pirelli's harder compound is said to deteriorate pretty quickly compared to Bdgstone, those will not last long, at least not long enough to complete full race (as was possible with Bdgstone :S ) .. and after all these are just tires :P.... anyway, i m more worried about the strategy of Ferrari than artificial excitement in the racing...

@eddie's adulthood..

i don't wanna feel guilty for allowing young impressionable mind of eddie to expose to 'harsh realities' of life... eddie may struggle and search and learn things on his own but i don't wanna see myself helping him gaining carnal knowledge :-# ... eddie lets just wait for another year then we will look into the possibility of allowing u to access THE premium contents ...

alright.. i see @UK is also favoring u to enter the adults club... right.. i think we all concur that u deserve full access to premium contents here...

[Blackeye117]

@all or you three wise men i m soo touched lol .... One More Year ... Thats Too Much Isnt It ?

[UncleKracker]

2010 best times

These are the best times for each team from last year’s pre-season test at the Circuit de Catalunya:
<table class="thin"><tbody><tr><td>Driver</td><td>Car</td><td>Best time</td></tr><tr><td>Lewis Hamilton</td><td>McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25</td><td>1’20.472</td></tr><tr><td>Mark Webber</td><td>Red Bull-Renault RB6</td><td>1’20.496</td></tr><tr><td>Felipe Massa</td><td>Ferrari F10</td><td>1’20.539</td></tr><tr><td>Nico Hülkenberg</td><td>Williams-Cosworth FW32</td><td>1’20.614</td></tr><tr><td>Adrian Sutil</td><td>Force India-Mercedes VJM03</td><td>1’20.667</td></tr><tr><td>Nico Rosberg</td><td>Mercedes W01</td><td>1’20.686</td></tr><tr><td>Kamui Kobayashi</td><td>BMW Sauber-Ferrari C29</td><td>1’20.911</td></tr><tr><td>Sebastien Buemi</td><td>Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR5</td><td>1’21.413</td></tr><tr><td>Vitaly Petrov</td><td>Renault R30</td><td>1’22.523</td></tr><tr><td>Jarno Trulli</td><td>Lotus-Cosworth T127</td><td>1’25.059</td></tr><tr><td>Timo Glock</td><td>Virgin-Cosworth VR-01</td><td>1’25.942</td></tr></tbody></table>

Last year's pole position time was a 1:19:9 by Mark Webber and fastest lap of the race was a 1:24:4 also by Webber.

Barcelona test - day 1, Lunch break

A damp start to the session following yesterday's heavy rain, times have improved as the track dried up. The session was Red flagged 15 minutes before lunch break as Barichello's Williams came to a halt prompting teams to take an early lunch break.

<table class="text_small" width="100%" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tbody><tr bgcolor="#eaeaea"><td height="20" align="center">1</td> <td align="left"> Alonso</td><td align="center">Ferrari</td><td align="left"> 1m25.485s</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"><td height="20" align="center">2</td> <td align="left"> Alguersuari</td><td align="center">Toro Rosso</td><td align="left"> 1m26.117s +0.632</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#eaeaea"><td height="20" align="center">3</td> <td align="left"> Button</td><td align="center">McLaren</td><td align="left"> 1m26.365s +0.880</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"><td height="20" align="center">4</td> <td align="left"> Vettel</td><td align="center">Red Bull</td><td align="left"> 1m26.640s +1.155</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#eaeaea"><td height="20" align="center">5</td> <td align="left"> Barrichello</td><td align="center">Williams</td><td align="left"> 1m27.447s +1.962</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"><td height="20" align="center">6</td> <td align="left"> Schumacher</td><td align="center">Mercedes</td><td align="left"> 1m27.661s +2.176</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#eaeaea"><td height="20" align="center">7</td> <td align="left"> Kovalainen</td><td align="center">Lotus</td><td align="left"> 1m30.464s +4.979</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"><td height="20" align="center">8</td> <td align="left"> D'Ambrosio</td><td align="center">Virgin</td><td align="left"> 1m32.068s +6.583</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#eaeaea"><td height="20" align="center">9</td> <td align="left"> Karthikeyan</td><td align="center">HRT</td><td align="left"> 1m32.396s +6.911</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"><td height="20" align="center">10</td> <td align="left"> Kobayashi</td><td align="center">Sauber</td><td align="left"> 1m36.264s +10.779</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#eaeaea"><td height="20" align="center">11</td> <td align="left"> Heidfeld</td><td align="center">Renault</td><td align="left"> 1m44.324s +18.839</td></tr></tbody></table>

[genius83]

Ecclestone to act quickly on BahrainFormula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone will wait until next week to make a decision on whether or not the Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead in the wake of the political turmoil going on in the Gulf state.

Bell to join Mercedes GP
Mercedes GP has announced it has recruited former Renault chief Bob Bell as its new technical director.

Liuzzi set to test for Hispania
The Hispania Racing team is planning to test Vitantonio Liuzzi at the Barcelona circuit this weekend, as the Spanish squad evaluates him for its second racing seat.

Williams to reveal livery online
The Williams team has announced that it will unveil its final livery for 2011 during an online event on 24th February.

Team Lotus hits back at Proton
Team Lotus has hit back at Proton after the Malaysian car maker claimed the team had asked for a big sum of money to end their naming rights dispute.

Ecclestone 'more hopeful' on Bahrain GP
Bernie Ecclestone insists he is becoming more hopeful that the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix will be able to go ahead as planned, and that the political situation in the region will calm - despite continuing unrest.

Kubica to leave intensive care unit
Robert Kubica is set to leave the intensive care unit at the Santa Corona hospital following his final operation.